Social capital and consumer happiness: toward an alternative explanation of consumer-brand identification

The purposes of this study are to integrate organizational social capital theory and consumer happiness in a prior brand identification model and test the antecedents and consequences of consumer-brand identification over time. In the context of professional football, we collected data from 374 panel registrants of an online research service firm throughout a season. The results indicated consumer-brand identification was impacted to a greater extent by two social capital factors: (1) social interaction ties and (2) shared vision, than by brand prestige and brand distinctiveness. Both social interaction ties and consumer-brand identification were also predictive of future behavioral loyalty and purchase frequency. Further, our moderation analysis revealed the impact of consumer-brand identification on behavioral loyalty was contingent on consumer happiness. The proposed framework and results reinforce the importance of consumer-to-consumer social capital and consumer happiness and add new insights into the dynamics of consumer-brand identification, consumer happiness, and enduring consumer loyalty.